Modern Arabic dictionaries have witnessed a new trend in their construction, adopting modern methods and approaches developed through Historical Linguistics, which prevailed in Europe during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Our research paper, entitled “Characteristics of Modern Arabic Lexicography in the Light of the Historical-Linguistic Method: ʿAbd al-ʿAlī al-Wadghīrī’s Al-ʿArabiyyāt al-Mughtaribāt: An Etymological and Historical Dictionary of French Words of Arabic or Arabized Origin as a Model,” seeks to shed light on one of these earnest experiments in Arabic lexicography an undertaking predominantly marked by a historical and etymological orientation. Through its examination, we aim to highlight the manifestations of the methodological transformation that has taken place in modern Arabic lexicography, identify its most significant characteristics, and demonstrate its functional value in the service of the Arabic language. Our inquiry proceeds from a number of questions, the most important of which are the following: In what ways have the characteristics of modern Arabic lexicography manifested themselves in the light of the historical method? How has this methodological approach benefited the Arabic language? And did al-Wadghīrī’s dictionary truly reflect such benefits for the language of Ḍād?